Lamar Odom

Lamar Odom is done playing for the Dallas Mavericks. Will any other NBA team take a chance on the enigmatic 6-foot-10 forward who is less than a year removed from winning the league's sixth man of the year award? Or perhaps the better question is, should someone give him another shot? Odom was known for his inconsistency during his seven seasons with the Lakers. But, by definition, that means there were good and bad times on the court for Odom in L.A. And particularly in the last few years, there seemed to be more good than bad, with Odom appearing to pull it all together last season by being named the league's best player off the bench.

The Lakers cleaned out their lockers after another early playoff ricochet, but I'm still working. My editor wanted five moves that would help the Lakers, wouldn't be ridiculed by opposing general managers and would be allowed under the NBA's complicated transaction guidelines. Keep in mind that the Lakers have extremely limited purchasing power for free agents and are an old team with a bloated payroll. Put it this way: Nobody is calling General Manager Mitch Kupchak at 3 a.m., begging him to part with Metta World Peace for two first-rounders.

"Selling L.A. " reality show viewers may wonder if any of the featured homes actually sell. Although perhaps not in time for the closing credits, some houses under consideration for the show do find a buyer outside the roving eye of the camera. One home that agent Rebekah Schwartz was promoting to HGTV for its 15 minutes of fame was the Marina del Rey pad that former Laker Lamar Odom rented a few years back. Listed at $1.995 million in January, it closed early this month at $1.825 million.

"Selling L.A. " reality show viewers may wonder if any of the featured homes actually sell. Although perhaps not in time for the closing credits, some houses under consideration for the show do find a buyer outside the roving eye of the camera. One home that agent Rebekah Schwartz was promoting to HGTV for its 15 minutes of fame was the Marina del Rey pad that former Laker Lamar Odom rented a few years back. Listed at $1.995 million in January, it closed early this month at $1.825 million.

The scattered boos showered over Lamar Odom. He had just bricked a free throw, and it provided the fans at American Airlines Center the latest ammo to fuel criticism over his underachieving performances ever since donning a Mavericks uniform. The Lakers' 109-93 victory Wednesday over Dallas featured a new low for Odom in which he finished with one point, one rebound and one assist. But before Odom could sulk and feel sorry for himself, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant approached him. Bryant spoke into Odom's ear for several seconds and patted him on the chest.

Whenever adversity flew in Lamar Odom's face, he pushed it right back. Instead of drowning in sorrow about his deceased family members, Odom inscribed their name on his shoes before every game. After initially stewing over a bench role with the Lakers four years ago, Odom laughed at the triviality of it all last season and became the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year. Shortly after witnessing his infant son's death and getting robbed at gunpoint six summers ago, Odom soon used the following NBA season as a refuge.

Within a four-month span, the feeling Lakers guard Kobe Bryant had toward the team's front office subtly changed. In December, Bryant criticized the Lakers for trading Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks, yet still gave the front office a vote of confidence at least for pursuing Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. In February, Bryant blasted the front office for leaving Pau Gasol in limbo and giving uncertain signals about the organization's direction. And in an appearance Thursday on 710 ESPN's Mason & Ireland, Bryant called executive Jim Buss a "great guy" and praised the Lakers for making "the right decisions.

Lamar Odom's voice on the phone frequently was barely above a whisper. The pain clearly registered in words that flowed in stops and starts as he delivered a soliloquy about death and the effect it has had on his psyche. The Lakers forward spoke deliberately and expressed how emotional it has been for him to deal with two recent deaths. Odom attended a funeral in New York on July 13 for his 24-year-old cousin, who Odom said was murdered. The next day, Odom was a passenger in an SUV in Queens when it collided with a motorcycle.

Responding to the pleas for a blockbuster trade, the Lakers answered their critics Thursday with a whopper. They traded their soul. The Lakers traded Derek Fisher, and if you are having trouble swallowing those five words, say them in point-four seconds and you'll really choke on it. The Lakers traded Derek Fisher, and it feels so wrong, it feels so cheap, and I don't care if he was aging, and slowing, and sliding toward the end of...

He was asleep, dreaming about playing basketball somewhere, preferably back with the Lakers -- with his cellphone turned off -- unaware his agent had worked out a deal. When Lamar Odom awoke Thursday, the free-agent forward turned on his phone and heard the message from his agent, Jeff Schwartz: "You're still a Laker," the message said. Odom called his agent back to confirm it. Odom and the Lakers had agreed on a four-year deal, reportedly for $33 million, with a team option for the final year.

DENVER - For a year he's taken the high road, staying above the mess that had become his Lakers career, refusing to indulge in the finger-pointing and pity that collected around his feet like piling garbage. He was blamed for last year's playoff loss, yet he didn't blame back. He was traded, then the trade was nullified, yet a smile, however forced, remained. He never whined. He never moped. He began this postseason as a third option in an offense that he once helped dominate, but he still had not griped, refusing to reveal anything that would let us know exactly how he was feeling.

With USA Basketball suffering what he called a "rash of injuries," chairman Jerry Colangelo said he plans to meet with the team's coaching staff either April 30 or May 1 in Las Vegas to determine how they're going to fill their thinning roster for the 2012 London Olympics. Orlando center Dwight Howard plans to have season-ending back surgery. Clippers guard Chauncey Billups tore an Achilles tendon earlier this season. Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge plans to have hip surgery.

Kobe Bryant missed his fifth consecutive game Sunday but hinted about his return from a sore left shin, telling ABC sideline reporter Heather Cox he would "definitely" play before the end of the regular season. Bryant spoke briefly to Cox at the Lakers' game against the Dallas Mavericks about his shin, saying he would be back "well before playoffs. " The Lakers have five games left after Sunday and conclude the regular season April 26 against the  Sacramento Kings. Bryant hadn't spoken to reporters in more than a week.

Mike Brown walked up to Andrew Bynum at the Lakers' training facility Saturday, laughing and making the usual post-practice small talk with the 7-footer. The mood around the team was significantly lighter one day after the Lakers coach departed Staples Center before a game against the Denver Nuggets to attend to an undisclosed family matter. Brown declined to discuss the reason that prompted him to leave his team, calling it a personal issue. "It was one of those instances where it was time to be with the family," Brown said, "and I felt it was the right thing for me to leave.

A new kind of Mav-wreck It was a week that packed enough drama for a season's worth of episodes on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" - or "Jersey Shore," for that matter. There were confrontations, finger-pointing and plenty of regrets, all involving one Lamar Joseph Odom. It started with the infamous locker-room clash last weekend between Odom and his boss, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who reportedly asked his mopey, underachieving forward whether he wanted "to go for it or not?"

-- The Times' Mike Bresnahan mentions Kobe Bryant's left shin has improved, but not enough to play San Antonio. -- Fox Sports' Sam Amico details how veteran teams, such as the Spurs and the Lakers, still remain contenders. -- NBA.com's Fran Blinebury remains concerned about Andrew Bynum's behavior. -- The Orange County Register's Kevin Ding notes that Bryant always plays if he's physically capable. -- ESPN Dallas' Tim MacMahon argues Lamar Odom's act in Dallas grew tiresome.

Lamar Odom sat down, placed his Bible on a table and, with damp eyes, told the story of his summer. His infant son died while sleeping in a crib, a loss that has tugged at him since it happened in June. The autopsy report labeled it an "unremarkable" death, a seven-month-old's life snatched by sudden infant death syndrome, the latest in a line of losses traceable through Odom's years. Odom was in New York for the funeral of an aunt when Jayden Odom died.

A new kind of Mav-wreck It was a week that packed enough drama for a season's worth of episodes on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" - or "Jersey Shore," for that matter. There were confrontations, finger-pointing and plenty of regrets, all involving one Lamar Joseph Odom. It started with the infamous locker-room clash last weekend between Odom and his boss, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who reportedly asked his mopey, underachieving forward whether he wanted "to go for it or not?"

Lamar Odom reportedly told Mark Cuban to "stop playing games" when the Dallas Mavericks owner questioned the player's commitment to the team during halftime of the Mavericks' game in Memphis on Saturday night.  That's really not the right way to respond to your boss in pretty much any situation, but especially not when you're the reigning sixth man of the year putting up career-low points while your team is fighting for a playoff spot. And now Odom is no longer playing games with the Mavericks, or any other NBA team this season.

Whenever adversity flew in Lamar Odom's face, he pushed it right back. Instead of drowning in sorrow about his deceased family members, Odom inscribed their name on his shoes before every game. After initially stewing over a bench role with the Lakers four years ago, Odom laughed at the triviality of it all last season and became the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year. Shortly after witnessing his infant son's death and getting robbed at gunpoint six summers ago, Odom soon used the following NBA season as a refuge.